Chickens Flashcards
biggest producers of eggs
china
biggest exporters of eggs
America (north and south)
Main industry body for eggs in Aus
Eggs Australia (formerly known as Australian Egg Corporation)
Which of layers or broilers “vertically integrated”
Broilers are mostly vertically integrated while eggs are more likely horizontally integrated or independently owned.
How many registered layer farms in Aus
about 300
who are the main companies for egg production in Aus and where are they each based?
Pace: NSW,
Sunny Queen: QLD
Farm pride: VIc
Is there much export of eggs? why?
not really. only if there is an oversupply, they might be sold as processed product maybe.
Limitations to genetic improvement of Aus flock
You aren;t allowed to bring in any live animals into the country, only fertilised eggs that are hatched under strict quarantine conditions.
Industry is very structured in its grandparent, hatchery etc setup.
biggest broiler producers
Asia: mostly for internal consumption
biggest broiler export
USA and Brazil
What are the different levels of structure of the broiler industry:
Breeders: Fertilised eggs imported and become... Great grandparents Grand parents Parent Hatchery Broiler systems (all in-all out) Processing Retail.
ALso: feed mill and other inputs… in vertical integrationall of these levels are controlled by one company.
main broiler corporations:
70% of industry is Inghams or Baiada
other 30% is La Ionica and Hazeldenes
Ducks:
- main companies
- industry structure
- size of industry
- Pepes (restaurant), Luv a Duck (other)
- vertically integrated structure
- industry about $100 million, growing by 10% each year
Turkeys:
- main companies
- industry structure
- size of industry
- Baiada, Inghams
- vertically integrated
- not that popular except for seasonal demand in Aus= small industry
Is the genetic improvement of chickens fast or slow? why?
Rapid improvement due to short generational length, large numbers of offspring (can do heaps of sibling prog testing, can also select harshly).
Can select intensively for production traits as we dont need to worry so much about environmental resilience (controlled environements).
main 2 genetics companies:
EW and Cobb: they have a monopoly,… means its harder for others to get access to quarantine facilities (might not be able to import new genetics for years and so they fall behind).
outline quarantine process for bringing in new genetics
- fertilised eggs brought in
- hatched in quarantine for 6 weeks
- these become great-grandparents for different lines
Main broiler bird types:
Aviagen (Ross)
Baiada (Cobb)
Main layer bird types:
Hyaline, Lohmann (Hyline international Isa Brown (Baiada)
Why are heaps of lines maintained
Breeding stock of each pure line must be maintained as you cant store chicken semen.
They need to keep breeding them so the line still exists and can then be crossed with other lines when you want to make a hybrid.
brown eggs breeds:
- isa brown
- hyline brown
- Lohmann (new, meant to be designed for free-range but showing very odd behaviour so far)
Normal egg production for a layer hen
1 egg per day for about 90 weeks (about 400 eggs in lifetime)
what is acceptable mort rates for layers
less than 2%. Anymore than 1-2 birds per week in a shed would be well worth investigating
Key welfare issues for layers: (according to this lady)
Ethical: - off sex disposal, spent hen disposal Welfare: - beak trimming - cage housing - moulting (uncommon) - cage layer fatigue (nutritional, not really anymore) - feather pecking - cannabalism
Cage systems:
Positives:
- good social group size (5-6)= stable social order, less incidence of antisocial behaviour.
- strict legislation and auditing
- cage requirements (horizontal bars)
- lower mort rates
- better/easier disease control
- easier biosec
- increased control of nutrition, temp, ventilation, light.
- easier and cheaper management
- hygenic for birds, eggs, staff
Cage system: negatives:
- limited behaviour: walking, scratching, stretching, dustbathing, perching
- feather loss
- foot and leg problems
- cage layer fatigue
- cant escape aggressive behaviour
- hard to see bottom and top layers
What is a “colony” system? pros and cons
Colony is like an enriched bigger cage system with perches. Europe skipped this and went straight to aviary. Good: enrichment, bad: hard to manage
“nest box system”
Cages with nest boxes inside. Need to be taught to lay in boxes. unnecessary extra step.
Aviary sytem:
Common in Europe. Aus laws mean they need to be checked everyday, very difficult in this system. Limited in human access. Ventilation and temp still under full control.
Barn system: pros
- behavour expression possible
- improved bone strength (leg health)
- control of feed/water/environment still high
- automated egg collection possible
- easy to inspect birds
Barn system: cons
- disease and mort higher than in cage
- large gorup size= increase in anti-social behaviour due to social instability
- higher costs of prod and management
- dust and ammonia (vent issues)
- harder to depopulate/disinfect.
Winter/ summer garden:
great for extreme outdoor temp conditions but very hard to clean
Free range pros:
- best system for behaviour expression
- access to outdoors
- varied diet and environment
- automation possible for egg collection, feed/water in large, permanent set-ups (not in the mobile ones)
Free range cons:
- health: higher risk of disease and parasites
- welfare: predation or fear of pred
- lack of climate control (humidity, temp)
- higher cost of production (managment, space, food waste)
- hard to do on large scale
- environmental damage; pasture/soil degradation, nutrient overload
- increased use of chemicals to deal with other problems (potential for residues in product)
- food safety (dirty eggs)
- less biosecurity
